Somos Calpe is the new political formation of Calp that starts its journey this year, presenting its candidacy for the 2023 municipal elections, headed by Ana Sala, current mayor of the town. The candidate she started this project after separating from her old formation, the Popular Party, upon learning that she did not receive regional support to try to revalidate the mayoralty.
Now, room next to Juan Manuel del Pino, as number two on the list, Rebeca Merchán, in third place, and the rest of his team are running for Mayor of Calp with renewed energy. LaMarinaAlta.com has interviewed the candidate to learn about her project more closely, to find out if she is contemplating possible post-electoral pacts and to take stock of her management as mayor of Calp.
ASK. Why do you think the residents of Calp have to vote for you to be the mayor of their municipality for the next 4 years?
ANSWER. I think I deserve another opportunity to continue working for Calpe and the people of Calpe. After a difficult legislature, especially the first two years, due to storms, the pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine, I consider that the management balance is very positive. Thus, I would like the Calpinos to have the opportunity to decide if I have managed well, and if they want me to continue managing the interest of all Calpino, to whom I owe, and have owed, not only in recent years as mayor, but also in my previous stage as councilor.
P. How do you assess the management of your government team carried out in the last 4 years?
R. I can assess the management of this Government Team these four years as very positive, due to the great involvement that it has had. This involvement has been the result of the circumstances that we have had to live through and, above all, that there is always someone pulling the cart, in this case me as mayoress. Without someone to pull the cart and say what to do at all times it is very difficult to manage well. In the most complicated moment of the legislature, with the pandemic, we have known what decisions had to be made at all times, we have helped people, helped companies, merchants and hoteliers. We have turned to the whole town and we have helped in everything we could and we have carried out projects that I am very proud of as mayor. A milestone to highlight is the municipal debt at 0. It is the first time in history that the Calpe City Council finds itself with 0 debtThus, we have started the 2023 Exercise and the last stretch of the current legislature.
I have met wonderful people along the way, including the Councilor for Finance, Contracting, Human Resources and, in recent months, Citizen Security, Fernando Ortiz, a young, brilliant and responsible boy who has given his all. Also to my government partners, Juan Manuel del Pino and Rebeca Merchán, who have supported me throughout the legislature and have been a fundamental pillar in being able to carry out 4 approved budgets in a timely manner, which have allowed us to manage public money the calpinos, in the best possible way.
P. LIVING PLACE. What do you propose to facilitate access to housing for the youngest and people with low incomes?
R. In relation to housing, we have a very important project on the table, which we precisely took to the penultimate plenary session of the legislature. This project began with a modification of the General Plan (PGOU) to generate VPO housing, for rent or purchase in an area where it is feasible to locate this type of housing. Unfortunately and regrettably, due to the vote against by some opposition parties and the Popular Party itself, which is part of the Government Team, the modification did not go ahead. Even so, my commitment is, if I govern again, that this project goes ahead with the aim of facilitating access to housing for everyone who needs it. That is the line of work that I am going to follow.
P. HEALTH AND EDUCATION. Calp only has one health center for its 24.000 inhabitants. Are you going to work to achieve the creation of a second health center? The same happens with the Institute, if they govern the Calp town hall, will they work to speed up the construction of the 2nd IES?
R. We have an infrastructure deficit, not only educational, but also health.
In terms of education, I don't know what is happening, but the different regional governments seem to have put their finger in the eye of the people of Calpe. It is unbearable and impossible that Calpe, one of the most important towns in the Marina Alta, the third largest municipality in terms of population, the fourth tourist municipality par excellence in the Valencian Community, in terms of tourist accommodation and hotel beds, has this deficit in infrastructure so important.
We have a project on the table with which we have finished the legislature, and I say again, as in housing matters, that if I am elected again, that project will see the light of day. A project where we generate a public building that we would transfer to the Department of Health to provide us with structures and means that second health center.
At the same time, in educational matters, we are immersed in the Pla Edificant in the tender and award of the project for the second institute, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue governing to speed it up as much as possible, because fathers, mothers and the entire educational community are tired of this abandonment by other higher administrations that cannot look the other way and that have to make defending and helping their neighbors a priority. Above the town halls, with the few powers we have, there are other administrations that seem to be doing something else instead of helping. My goal is serious and firm. I want to reach the maximum number of Calpinos, in need of health and educational facilities.
P. TOURISM. Do you advocate continuing to defend sun and beach tourism in the summer season or do you propose promoting another type of tourism throughout the year?
R. Calpe is much more than a tourist municipality, it is a benchmark in gastronomy, culture and heritage, sports, and even architecture. This year we are commemorating the Bofill year and we are dedicated to offering the world that Calpe is not just a municipality of sun and sand. We have protected green areas, mountain sports, cycling, the Old Town, cultural and musical events... that is there and shows that we are not just sun and sand. We are much more, we are a benchmark.
P. TRANSPORTATION. Do you think Calp is a municipality with good urban public transport?
R. Urban public transport is far from the needs we have and we are just working on it. We have just validated the first draft of the new urban public transport improvement project. We are finalizing and outlining this draft to be able to tender it when we have the economic quantification. We want to provide a better service to Calpe, because our municipality has grown a lot in recent years and needs a much improved service. For this reason, this is another of the matters for which this legislature is working, which has not yet concluded.
P. INFRASTRUCTURES. What infrastructures do you consider are most necessary for Calp?
R. As I have said before, the most important thing is to have the second institute, a fifth school and the second health center. And if we could get a hospital, it would already be the icing on the cake that Calpe needs, because we are 40.000 inhabitants on average, between the months of the summer season, and 25.000 registered residents, as of January 1, 2023.
It is also important to highlight, in the field of infrastructures, that the process to approve the execution of road J and road E to Empedrola is being completed. Likewise, the new contract for the Collection of Urban Solid Waste and Street Cleaning has been awarded for nine years, with an amount of 49 million euros. Cleaning is an essential service and must continue to be provided. This contract, which aims to make Calpe the cleanest municipality in Spain, comes after Calpe had spent 30 years with the same contract with a deficit in services.
P. SOCIAL SERVICES. How do you think they should be improved? Calp Social Services?
R. I believe that the Social Services in the Calpe City Council are highly regarded, they work very well and we are pioneers in this area. No citizen can have a complaint about how the City Council works and cares about its citizens in terms of social services.
The problem, as I have pointed out before, is that the city councils have few powers and we depend on other administrations, in this case the Administration of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Autonomous Administration, we depend on the Ministry of Inclusive Policies, and all of this slows down the solving the real problems of citizens, such as getting the files processed quickly so that a disability or disability can be declared, and that cannot be. Citizens are above all else and the speeding up of files must be given the highest priority in order to make the administration as efficient as possible, which is what the Public Administration Law says. Management that is not efficient and agile is not good management..
P. TOWN PLANNING. How should the urban future of Calp be? What measures in this matter do you propose?
R. In terms of urbanism, I believe that this legislature has adopted the best measures to protect the territory, without detriment or prejudice, of the rights of the owners, that they have them and this Government Team has respected them and will always continue to respect them. The general interest prevails above all, without undermining or harming the private interest, since it is possible to reconcile both rights and achieve the objective of protecting the territory, without undermining or harming private rights. In this way, this line is the one that this Government Team, the Department of Territory and this mayoress who is speaking to you have worked on.
As a noteworthy measure in terms of urban planning, the homogenization of heights has been approved in this legislature and a building plot of 10.000 square meters in La Manzanera has been obtained as a green area.
P. Lastly, do you see a post-electoral agreement with César Sánchez's PP possible?
R. As for the possible post-electoral agreement with Sánchez's PP, I am not talking about agreements, I am not talking about pacts. My goal is to win the municipal elections on May 28 and have a sufficient majority, enough confidence in the citizens to govern alone. and to be able to continue with social policies, to improve the territory, to social services and to continue positioning Calpe as a smart, sustainable and accessible tourist destination, and for Calpe to be a benchmark in every way, which it already is.
Excellent electoral program, with solid and justified arguments for all areas, it is very deserving of the trust of the residents of Acalpe